Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

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It was dark outside when Teresa Lisbon shrugged on her coat later that evening. She had just sent her team home as there was nothing that they could do until morning. Mark Burrie was out of the picture as a suspect as he had an iron-clad alibi – sitting in a jail cell on a DUI charge and driving without a licence. They were fresh out of suspects for the moment, and so they would start fresh in the morning.

There was nothing more that could be done for the case this evening, but she and Mr Patrick Jane had some unfinished business to sort out. Picking up her bag, she flicked off her office light as she entered the bullpen and headed for the couch.

She swore that he had been there only moments earlier, but as she looked down at the worn, faded brown leather, she frowned. Patrick Jane was not there.

Looking around the empty room, she could find no sign of the consultant. Heading out into the hallway, she startled when she heard her name being called. Turning, she found herself face with face with her boss. Damnit.

'Would you care to enlighten me as to why my Serious Crimes Unit team all of a sudden happened to be out of office at the same time yesterday?' said Minelli in an interested tone as he eyed his agent. 'And even better, why they were all the way out on the California/Nevada border?'

'I can explain,' said Lisbon.

'Please do.'

'Well...' she began, looking around for inspiration.

'Please tell me it had nothing to do with Red John,' begged Minelli, his arms dropping to his side.

'Nothing bad happened out there boss,' she promised as Minelli released a heavy sigh. 'Red John is hands off Lisbon. You know that.'

'I know,' said Lisbon nodding her head. 'I know, sir.'

'Well make sure that he knows,' he ordered, pointing a finger at her. 'Where is he now anyway?'

'I don't know.' At least that part was the truth.

'Reel him in Lisbon,' declared Minelli as he passed her, walking down the hallway.

'I would if I could find the damn man and get him to talk about it for longer than two seconds,' muttered Lisbon under her breath as she walked in the opposite direction.

'Sorry?' called Minelli. 'Did you say something?'

'Nothing sir. Have a good night.'

Giving up on finding Jane after ten minutes of searching, she decided to head home for a much needed shower. She had to be pushing 48 hours since her last one as her, ah, activities this morning had put a spanner in her usual morning works.

Entering her house, she dropped her bag, keys and various pieces of clothing along the way as she made a beeline for her bathroom. She groaned as she stepped into the shower and the hot water washed over her body, massaging her sore muscles. There were some muscles that she didn't even realise she had that were aching in pain as the heat pounded down.

Thinking of the damn man, her mind flew back to the morning as her hands began to move of their own volition. They ran over her body in a manner not dissimilar to how Patrick's had not so long ago. She smiled a little smile. She could fault Patrick Jane on many things, but a bad lover he was not.

Jane woke up to darkness drenched in sweat. Feeling the familiar leather of the couch below him, he looked about unseeingly. The face was still there. He felt a chill in his bones as it soundlessly uttered those words again and again. 'Forgive Me.' 'Forgive Me.' The inevitable nightmares had returned. He had managed a nightmare-free sleep – something he hadn't managed in a long time – last night and he wasn't stupid enough to not know the reason for it. He could say it was the sex, but he knew that it had more to do with the woman, rather than what they did last night. Alone on the cold couch in the cold HQ, Jane crossed his arms over his chest. Sleep was a long time coming.

When Lisbon arrived at work the following morning, she entered the bullpen to find Jane sleeping on the couch. Releasing an exasperated sigh at finding him there, she contemplated how to deal with him as she entered her office, shrugging off her coat and dropping her bag. He was ploughing ahead as if nothing was wrong. As if they hadn't just had a showdown with someone from his dark past - a trusted person that had shattered part of his history.

Stepping into bullpen once again, she adjusted her shirt collar and swore as she saw that the couch was empty. It had only been a minute! Frowning, she turned to the newly arrived laughing Rigsby and van Pelt. 'Where did Jane go?'

'Jane?' questioned Rigsby in confusion as van Pelt looked around. 'I thought he was with you.'

'Now why would you assume that?' said Lisbon irritably as van Pelt fumbled over an answer. Cho's arrival seconds later saved her from digging a deeper hole. 'You seen Jane?'

The only response Cho offered was a grunt around his baguette as he gestured the team over to his desk. 'We've got a break.'

The break was the revelation that the murder weapon was a knife that was missing from the kitchen. With this discovery, it was looking less like a planned murder, and more of a crime of passion, which pointed to Glynis Lombard's killer being someone she knew. There was no sign of forced entry.

Lisbon ordered van Pelt and Rigsby to check up on Hugh Lombard's alibi and for Cho to follow up with Crime Scene as she automatically looked around for Jane. Growling when he was still nowhere to be found, she sent out a general warning to her team. 'When you see Jane, send him to me.'

Turning for her office, she found her path blocked by the blasted man himself as she was forced to bounce backward on her feet in order to avoid running clean into him. 'Good morning!' was the cheery voice of Patrick Jane as he handed her a takeaway cup of coffee. 'Where are we off to?'

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Next Chapter: Jane begins to unravel.